2014 Fiat 500L Lounge

Second place: Flat-Pack Rats.

People shop for these vehicles seeking two things: space and personality. The 500L has more of both than the Soul. While we were able to fit the coffee table, end tables, entertainment center, and futon from the $565 living room into both test cars, only with the Fiat was it possible to close the hatch. And from a dynamic perspective, the Fiat’s quick steering and 500 Abarth–sourced engine remind us that, while Kia’s parent, Hyundai, once shared a boardroom with a shipbuilder, Fiat owns Ferrari.

So why is it in second place? It has a bigger personality, but not all of its aspects are likable. Its interior is more spacious but less comfortable. The front seats do everything wrong, being hard, flat, and short in the bottom cushions, making it feel as if they slope forward. Also, for $28,245, we’d expect at least the driver’s seat to be powered, but nope. Our voters also rated the 500L’s rear area less comfortable than the Soul’s, as the curve of the roof impinged on outboard passengers’ headroom.

And even dynamically, the 500L is an incomplete package. Although its center of gravity is lower than the Soul’s, it exhibits far more body roll, and the driver’s bolt-upright seating position exacerbates the sense of wallow. So does steering that is too good for the car it’s in. Were the suspension and brakes matched to the quick, progressive rack, this would be the start of a great enthusiast hatch. As it is, though, the rest of the car seems to want to relax, but the steering won’t let it. It’s a lazy old dog being pulled around the living room by a shrieking toddler, and it’s not having any fun.

Surely, Fiat expects to reel in customers with the 500L’s style, but we don’t get the look. The huge glass area and upright seats make for excellent sightlines, but the view forward through the split A-pillar is just weird. We can’t imagine it was any designer’s career ambition to smoosh the look of an early ’90s GM DustBuster minivan onto the proportions of a mini UPS truck.

Oh, blasted fickle-stick! A malfunctioning shifter made operation of the 500L eventful and, occasionally, almost very expensive.

Most disconcerting, though, is the 500L’s build quality. On several mornings, the “PRNDL” lights that indicate the shifter positions flickered when we started the car. Apparently, it wasn’t just the light circuit that was interrupted, but also the shift lock, as we couldn’t shift out of park unless the lights were on. We had to time our move with the light show. Once out of park, we could toggle the shifter between drive and reverse, but the transmission wouldn’t necessarily engage the correct gear. Pulling out of a parallel-parking space is way more exciting when you’re not sure if the gas pedal is going to thrust you out into traffic or punt you into the parking meter.

That’s not the only whiff of suspect quality in this Fiat. The interior and exteri­or door handles feel weary, the doors themselves close with a tinny rattle, and the cheap-feeling infotainment buttons remind us of those in ­Chinese cars. If you left the U.S. market in shame 30 years ago and were now mounting a comeback, knowing you had no reputation with most buyers but the worst imaginable reputation with the ones who remember, wouldn’t you be awfully careful about the details?

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*AccuPayment estimates payments under various scenarios for budgeting and informational purposes only. AccuPayment does not state credit or lease terms that are available from a creditor or lessor, and AccuPayment is not an offer or promotion of a credit or lease transaction.